A 31-year-old Marlow man is being held on a $500,000 bond after authorities allege he broke a 2-month-old child's bones and sent him to the hospital.

Christopher J. Easley appeared in Stephens County District Court Tuesday, where he was charged with child abuse by injury after former conviction of a felony, according to court records.  He faces up to life imprisonment if convicted of the latest charge.

Easley was arrested Sunday by Marlow police after he confessed to breaking the baby's upper and lower left arm, left femur and three ribs, according to the report filed by police.

Detective Antonio Aguilera began investigating the case after an officer took a report of the child's injuries Saturday at Duncan Regional Hospital. The attending doctor expressed concerns about the child's injuries and inconsistencies in statements from Easley and his wife, Jessica Burk, Aguilera said in an affidavit filed in district court. A Department of Human Services child welfare worker, Allison Wolfe, contacted with Associate District Judge Brent Russell, who gave DHS a verbal emergency order to take the child into custody for his protection, the the affidavit, and the child was taken to an Oklahoma City hospital for treatment.

Easley and Burk spoke with investigators Sunday. Burk denied hurting the child and said Easley told her the child must have hurt his arm while rolling over and pinning it behind his back, the affidavit states. She said she has seen Easley use a closed fist to push the baby's stomach and ribs to help with constipation, Aguilera said. She said he'd also spanked the child for disciplinary reasons.

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